FEARS are mounting that Northwich could become the 'dustbin of Cheshire'.

That's the view of Northwich Cllr George Mainwaring, who says a site at Lostock Gralam earmarked for an incinerator must be removed from a waste plan for the county.

The inclusion of industrial land currently owned by Brunner Mond for a potential 'thermal treatment' plant in the county council's draft Replacement Waste Local Plan, unveiled on Thursday, has provoked outrage from people living near the Griffiths Road site.

And Northwich East Cty Cllr Mainwaring immediately called for thermal treatment to be removed from the blueprint. He said: 'My fear is that Northwich will become the dustbin of the North West and possibly even further afield if we don't take action and amend this plan.

'This could be one of the first incinerators built in the country and so councils could send in their waste from all over.'

Though the draft document will only provide guidance to members of the public and the waste industry about sites that may be suitable 'in principle' for waste treatment, Cllr Mainwaring shares residents' concerns that Lostock's inclusion will increase the likeli-hood of Northwich being chosen by a waste company.

Cllr Mainwaring, who fears there could be up to 500 lorry movements each day to the site, added: 'This is a very emotive document and I have already had many representations from local people.

'I recommend that the term 'thermal treatment' is removed from the consultation document. If, in the future, the Government rules that thermal treatment must take place, then so be it, but in the 1950s and 60s there was a similar debate on nuclear power. Who wants a nuclear power station today - or its waste?'

Northwich is one of six areas in the county earmarked as suitable to host a thermal treatment plant in the document, which was drawn up to tackle Cheshire's growing waste crisis and will go before the full council for its approval next month.

But Lostock Green resident David Taylor, who will be downwind of any development, said an incinerator would affect house prices and called for the idea to be rejected as a 'totally unacceptable method of refuse disposal'. He added: 'It's an absolute fact that we don't want an incinerator on our doorsteps. There is so much information available about the dangers of toxins caused by incineration that there is plenty of reason to be concerned.'

Brunner Mond's director of corporate affairs Mark Chitty said the proposal, which would see the creation of an integrated facility run by a private company, would be safe. He said: 'I'm quite sure that national and local government wouldn't be promoting any kind of development that could cause injury or ill-ness to local people.

'Energy from waste is a well-proven and widely used technology, and there are already a number of similar facilities in the UK and across Europe.'

He also denied that it would lead to a drop in house prices. He said: 'This has been an industrial site for more than a century and those fundamentals aren't changing.'